now" -- this morning on "world news now" -- a race against time. in a matter of hours, hurricane sandy will come ashore, bringing some of the most dangerous conditions seen in decades. >> this morning, major east coast cities are literally shut down, and coastal communities have already been evacuated. it is monday, october 29th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." usually we say good morning. but it doesn't seem appropriate on this monday. all eyes on sandy, what's going to be a very tough probably 36 to 72 hours for millions of folks along the east coast. good morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm paula faris. hurricane sandy is a 900-mile

superstorm expected to make landfall in new jersey tonight. 900 miles. just think of a 900-mile-wide wing span. >> i know. from cloud to cloud. that's a massive storm. this morning, of course, complete coverage of hurricane sandy, the forecast, the storm's track and very important, tips to help you and your family stay safe. also, new york city, like several other cities up and down the east coast, is all but shut down. scenes we don't see here a lot. just subway stations empty. times square empty. everything just shut down. there is no mass transit, limited flights. people are urged simply to stay home. >> officials warn the storm could leave millions without power. we're going to tell you how communities are coping and how long it could be out. >> worst-case scenario here, seven to ten days some areas will be without power. up to 10 million people will be in the dark starting sometime tomorrow -- or later today, i should say. >> which is why it's so crucial that if you're anywhere in the area of the storm, that you have

stocked up on supplies. >> yes, yes. batteries, flashlights, candles, nonperishable food, all that stuff. as for the campaign, campaign for president, enters the final stretch, of course, hurricane sandy giving candidates trouble. 16, 17 events canceled. president working with fema. so definitely affecting the election right at, incredibly, a pivotal time. >> mm-hmm. they're now being forced to move their campaigns as well as kind of switch their messages as well. but first there's a bull's eye on more than 50 million people this morning as hurricane sandy is taking aim. forecasters are warning everybody in its path, vast path, that the mega storm, some are calling a perfect storm will unleash life-threatening flooding. >> hurricane sandy has already paralyzed the northeast. ripple effects will be felt across the country for days if not weeks if not months to come. we begin with abc's tahman bradley. he's in ocean city, maryland.

>> reporter: good morning, rob and paula. sandy is a monster, unprecedented in size and scope. along the mid-atlantic, residents are hunkered down preparing for the worst. >> we are expecting a pretty significant storm here that could lead to very significant flooding. >> reporter: transportation brought to a standstill throughout the region. more than 6,000 flights have already been grounded through tuesday, leaving travelers scrambling. >> we're trying to get back to raleigh, north carolina, and we're stuck. >> we're basically almost having nervous breakdowns. >> reporter: the storm surges heightened by a full moon are a major concern in new york where fear of flooding halted subways, buses, trains, even broadway. hundreds of thousands ordered to evacuate low-lying areas. >> if you don't evacuate, you're not jut putting your own life in danger. you're endangering the lives of first responders. >> reporter: tens of millions impacted from the carolinas to canada and to the great lakes. atlantic city, new jersey, is virtually shut down in anticipation of a direct hit.

>> i'm really, really worried because they just told a friend of mine they think it's going to hit the bay. the bay and the ocean will come together. >> reporter: utility workers are standing by to reap pair, expected massive, widespread power outages. >> it may take a long time not only to clear but also to get, for example, the power companies back in. >> reporter: sandy is wreaking havoc here in ocean city, maryland. the heavy rain and wind has forced the maryland governor to cancel early voting scheduled for today. back to you, rob, paula. >> tahman, try to stay dry out there. our extreme weather team, of course, has been working through the night to pinpoint sandy's expected path. >> accuweather.com meteorologist jim dickey is joining us this morning with the very latest. good morning, jim. >> reporter: good morning, rob and paula. well, again, this is a massive storm system. looking at the infrared satellite imagery here, cloud stretches from quebec, ontario, coast of carolina.

the storm expected to make a turn to the north, northwest. inland. jog eastward. through much of the day yesterday. you can see in the last couple of frames, it is turning north. you're starting to feel the effecting of the second system. heavy rainfall. band of heavy rain stretches from outer banks up into the mid-atlantic. heavy rain has been pouring down portions of eastern pennsylvania. through much of the day. this isn't good. we don't need more rainfall on top of what we will see as sandy does move inland. the impacts here. threefold. first impact, that's going to be the storm surge. anywhere on the northeastern periphery tonight. southern new jersey looking for a devastating impact from the storm surge. 5 to 10 foot plus in some spots. that's why the evacuations have been ordered. we're talking about the ocean coming up, watching over the land. second impact, inland flooding. usually the case when we have a land-falling tropical system, darker green. over 8 inches of rainfall. lastly, of course, the winds. going to down widespread trees and power lines. anyone here, in new york city,

wind gusts, 6 0rks 70 miles an hour at times. widespread trees down. power outages in the thousands, if not millions likely. >> jim, we've been talking about the storm's pattern. you have a pretty good indication of when it is going to hit and where it is going to hit. how confident are we, could it deviate, are we confident in the path up laid out there? >> we are very confident it is going into new jersey. but at this point also, this is not like a typical tropical system where we focus on where the center is going or we have high winds. this is a huge wind field, spanning miles and miles. where the center goes. not sure the point in time. many, many spots are going to see at least tropical storm force winds. >> and, jim, there are so many components in play with the storm. what are you concerned about? is it the size? is it the storm surge? is it the high wind? is it the amount of rainfall? is it the full moon, the two feet of snow further west? such an incredible ingredient

list in all of this. what really is potentially the most damaging thing in this storm? >> all of what you said, you wrap that up. just such a wide impact with this storm. if it was just one or two of the impacts you just said, perhaps we wouldn't be talking so much about this. so many are affected. this is such a large storm with so many wide-ranging impacts. that's what will leave the lasting impact with the storm. >> jim, i have to ask you, we talked about how vast the storm was. 900 miles wide from wing tip to wing tip. but how is it that it's actually going to impact the great lakes hundreds of miles in the midwest? >> well, in the great lakes, strong gusty winds as this storm moves inland. that's going to cause huge waves on the lakes. that's one impact. also heavy rainfall, many spots going to see flooding well inland as the storm moves its way further in. so, again, wide-ranging impacts all along the track of this storm. >> all right.

we know you have a close eye on this thing for us, and we appreciate you being with us early this morning. we'll check back in throughout the show. many thanks again. accuweather's jim dickey. the size of this thing, that's what makes it so spectacular. don't pay attention to category 1 or anything like that. it's the size and how long this thing is going to hang around. days majority of the week, the real danger here. >> once it really forms with the two cells. it gains strength. frightening. >> feeding off the cold front and jet stream. >> kinetic energy. energy in motion. well, the governor of connecticut is calling sandy the largest threat to human life in this state and anyone's lifetime. utility and road crews are standing by to work on what could be major power outages. a record storm surge, threatening more than 300 homes forced evacuations along the coast. governor dan malloy said the last time we saw anything like this was -- never. >> telling quote. there are dire predictions about the power outages ahead.

potentially millions of people without electricity for many, many days. >> and utility companies are doing what they can to get ahead of this disaster, but faced with a situation like hurricane sandy, there's only so much they can do. abc's david kerley is in rehoboth beach, delaware. >> reporter: the power was going out even before the full force of sandy hit shore. larry jackson knows the worst is still to come. >> probably working 16-hour days. >> reporter: thousands of utility workers are in their trucks and headed east to repair what are expected to be massive power outages. these beach vacationers packed up to head home. inland. >> actually the aftermath is what we're concerned about. >> reporter: no power? >> right? and for days. >> reporter: the power outages are expected to be widespread. >> it may take a long time not only to clear but also to get, for example, the power companies back in. >> reporter: during hurricane irene last year, about 6 million homes lost electricity. this researcher plugged in all

the information into a new program, and he believes this will be worse. >> our estimate at this point is 10 million. it could be higher. it could be lower. >> reporter: 10 million or more without power for a week to ten days, which is why this wisconsin company has added extra shifts, trying to build as many portable generators as quickly as possible. officials worry that residents might misuse some of those generators, putting them indoors, or stringing extension cords dangerously. many seem to be heeding the warnings, checking off their lists of preparedness, batteries, water, nonperishable food. >> i'm nervous about losing power. i'm nervous about the storm. >> reporter: some of the best advice from officials, if a tree takes down one of your power lines, leave the power line alone. leave the tree limb alone as well. let the power company take care of it. david kerley, abc news, rehoboth beach, delaware. >> good advice. let the professionals handle it. that's for sure. and, of course, we will be following the latest developments on hurricane sandy throughout the entire morning.

>> stay with abc news both on air and online for complete coverage of the storm. >> and our coverage of sandy here on "world news now" will continue as well. still ahead, a late report from here in new york where the storm threat has shut down main major parts of the city. stay with us. >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by united health care. >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by united health care. i'm only in my 60's... i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call now and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company.

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welcome back, everybody. of co welcome back, everybody. of course, our only story this morning, hurricane sandy. a live picture at atlantic city, new jersey. the storm expected to make landfall late monday, early tuesday. looks most likely will hit some where along the jersey shore. a.c., a ghost town. smartest bet to make in atlantic city, get out of town. most folks have. the calm before the storm, as the cliche goes. >> i don't think we've seen atlantic city so quiet, such a vast expanse. so many people from south carolina, up to maine. inland as far as the great lakes. >> i know. that tells you the size of this thing. the storm system covering the east coast is targeting the most densely populated areas in the country.

>> hundreds of thousands have been ordered to get to higher ground, but many are refusing to go. reporter jim dolan of our new york city station has the story. >> reporter: so many people who evacuated during irene have decided to stay in the rockaways this time. they know the storm is bigger. they know the water could be higher, they know there will be days without electricity. doesn't seem to matter. they're committed to riding it out. police can do little more than patrol the rockaways tonight. you just can't force people to leave their homes. most businesses here are closed. but the ones that stayed open like elegance pizza are as busy as ever. people were told to evacuate by 7:00. many did not. they say they're ready. >> this is my hood. i'm staying right here. i want to see what happens. >> reporter: some admitted to being a bit anxious what the storm will bring when the wind starts kicking. others say bring it on. >> at the end of the day we ain't running. my fellow people, right now we are going to hold it down, you know what i'm saying. we thank y'all.

thank you, but no thank you. >> if it gets worse tomorrow, i might be leaving. i will not be crazy. if it gets worse, i might leave. >> reporter: by then it may be too late. the bridges that connect this part of the city to the rest of the city close when the winds get high, and so the people who decide they want to get out of here, by the time they leave, it could be too late because once the bridge is closed, the people who decided to stay are staying for good. reporting live from far rockaway, jim dolan. channel 7 eyewitness news. >> thank you, jim for finding such -- >> anyway. >> the mayor, new york city mayor says the problem with this, they're not only endangering themselves, but

they're now endangering the lives of the first responders who have to go in and try to rescue them should it become an emergency situation. >> any storm, part of the country. you always find the diehard, i'm not going anywhere. put perspective in here. in a measurement of pure kinetic energy, rank the surge and wave destruction potential for sandy, just the hurricane not hybrid it eventually will become at a 5.8 on a 0-6 scale. a very strong, dangerous storm. if you can get to a safe place get out of the way and let mother nature do her thing and come back. >> unfortunately for the folks, sound too late. kind of trapped. >> enjoy the pizza, could be your last. still ahead, hurricane sandy throwing a wrench in a lot of people's plans. two guys, you may have heard of, barack obama and mitt romney. >> we have heard of them t latest from the campaign trail coming up on "world news now." >> announcer: "world news now" continues after this from our abc stations.

welcome back, everybody. well, even if you won't be directly hit by sandy, you may

feel the effts welcome back, everybody. well, even if you won't be directly hit by sandy, you may feel the effects of the storm anyway. >> both presidential candidates have been blown off course, especially mr. obama whose day job is calling. abc's political correspondent jonathan karl has the details. >> reporter: it's mother nature's october surprise, a storm so big and so destructive, it could throw the campaign's final week into chaos. >> the storm will throw havoc into the race. >> reporter: for president obama it meant canceling two upcoming campaign events and visiting fema headquarters, vowing an immediate response to the storm. >> we're going to cut through red tape. we're not going to get bogged down with a lot of rules. we want to make sure we're anticipating and leaning forward. >> reporter: there are political stakes, too, a chance for the president to show decisive leadership or take the blame if the response is bungled. all told, 16 campaign events have already been canceled. mitt romney canceled three in virginia. moving westward to ohio where he met up with paul ryan.

>> today when we get home, put in our prayers the people who are in the east coast in the wake of this big storm that's coming. let's not forget those fellow americans of ours. >> reporter: the race is as close as ever, a point dramatized in the obama ad that the 2000 race was decided by 537 votes in florida. >> if you're thinking that your vote doesn't count, that it won't matter, well, back then, there were probably at least 537 people who felt the same way. >> reporter: mitt romney picked up the endorsements of two iowa newspapers that supported obama last time, one that hasn't supported a republican since richard nixon. with the storm coming and the race so tight, both campaigns are trying to bank as many votes as possible in states with early voting. the superstorm storm has not stopped this campaign. mitt romney will be campaigning in three states on monday, and the president will be on the

trail as well, campaigning in florida. jonathan karl, abc news, marion, ohio. >> you have to believe this is a distraction neither campaign wanted. sandy wreaking havoc in all kind of ways. we'll be back, everybody. stay with us. . we will be back, everybody. stay with us. 3q

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those picturill those pictures will only get worse. hurricane sandy is more powerful than the federal government. shutting down operations right there in the nation's capital. >> our washington station is monitoring the storm around the clock. and here from the american landscape is how they covered it last night. >> this is abc 7 news at 11:00. >> hurricane sandy is already starting to have a major impact on our area. president barack obama signed off an emergency declaration for maryland, and just within the last couple of hours, one for the district. and want to see what a hurricane looks like? just take a look at brad bell's live shot from ocean city, maryland. he's been there all day as

conditions have gone downhill. brad. >> reporter: yeah, they have gone downhill. as matter of fact, as you were getting ready to toss to me, i pulled out my wind speed indicator. a gust that hit 50 miles an hour. >> want to got to tom live at reagan national airport and tell also but transportation troubles related to sandy. tom? >> a whole lot of them, pamela. at this point, reagan airport, a pretty quiet place. a lot of flights in to and out of here were cancelled this evening. tomorrow is looking a lot worse. that will be the case at all the airports in our region. even if you wanted to come to the airport, let's say if you wanted to take the metro, couldn't do it because they're shutting down for at least the next days. >> one of the best ways for forecasters to track hurricanes is to actually fly through them. >> and this weekend one of our own got a chance to fly along with noaa scientists. abc 7's chris van cleve was the only washington reporter on the plane in a story only on 7.

>> reporter: here onboard a noaa p-3, they call it herman. the flight deck, focused on getting us in and out of hurricane sandy. right up here behind the pilots. sits the flight director. she's a meteorologist, and she's looking at all the data that's coming in, everything that this airplane is gathering, and it's a lot. back behind us is where the real science is going on. this is information that's being gathered, that can only be gathered by flying into the hurricane. this airplane has a doppler radar in the tail. what the doppler's picking up is showing up right here on these screens. they can then build a model of the storm, analyze the data. it gives us a sense if sandy is getting stronger or weaker, if the winds are getting more intense. we're onboard the hurricane hunter, herman. chris van clees, abc 7. >> a bird's-eye view of what is coming. all right. keep it here on abc for continuous coverage of hurricane sandy. all right. keep it here on abc for continuous coverage of hurricane

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this morning on "world news now" -- surviving hurricane sandy. 50 million people are in the path of this super storm. this morning on "world news now" -- surviving hurricane sandy. 50 million people are in the path of this super storm. and forecasters are warning of life-threatening flooding. >> the massive storm is already crippling the northeast and is about to unleash devastating torrential rains on top of tropical wind. it's monday, october 29th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." it is monday. we welcome you to a special edition of "world news now." where we are tracking what looks like to be a massive storm, hurricane sandy. i'm paula faris on this monday. >> hi, good morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. and this morning, hurricane sandy is our only story as that monster storm churns into a worst-case scenario.

>> 50 million people are in harm's way, and many have been heeding the warnings, scrambling to get ready, boarding up their houses, buying whatever supplies they kl can find, and fleeing their homes if they have to. but a lot of folks are staying put, keeping themselves in harm's way unfortunately. >> which is hard to understand in a storm like this, but a lot of coastal communities up and down the coast, people are being told to get out. hopefully most of those folks have heeded the warnings. it's getting to a point where it will be too late to turn back. things are going to slowly deteriorate really over the next 10 to 12 hours. on the east coast travel has ground to a halt. thousands of flights, almost 7,000 flights, in fact, have already been canceled, ripple effect that will, of course, stretch across the country. >> my mom actually was visiting from michigan and she was supposed to fly out today. not happening. >> staying put. >> staying put for a couple more days. >> wednesday or thursday. before mrs. faris gets out of town. >> yep. and we begin with the latest on

hurricane sandy, one of the most ferocious storms this country has ever seen as forecasters warn of an unprecedented scenario and serious danger. >> sandy is a massive system barreling toward landfall most likely at this point. the landfall will happen in new jersey, late monday, early tuesday morning. hurricane-force winds of 75 miles an hour. extend 175 miles from the storm's center. and tropical storm winds cover 520 miles in every direction. that tells you the size of this thing. one estimate says there could be $80 billion in damage to homes in the mid-atlantic states. >> sandy is a beast in city after city. mass transit and airline operations are canceled, and schools, businesses, and government offices are closed. >> east coast is shut down. let's just call it what it is. >> except us. >> except we're here. hurricane sandy is on track to collide with a blast of wintry weather, barreling in from the west and a cold air mass from the arctic. all of that is combining to make

a dangerous situation even worse. abc's tahman bradley is in ocean city, maryland. >> reporter: sandy is a monster. her size and scope unprecedented. along the mid-atlantic residents are bracing for hurricane force winds, waves, and storm surges. >> we are expecting a pretty significant storm here that could lead to very significant flooding. >> reporter: transportation brought to a standstill throughout the region. more than 6,000 flights have already been grounded through tuesday. leaving travelers scrambling. >> we're trying to get back to raleigh, north carolina, and we're stuck. >> we're basically almost having nervous breakdowns. >> reporter: storm surges increased by the full moon. in new york, fear of flooding halted subways, buses, trains, even broadway. hundreds of thousands of people now ordered to evacuate low-lying areas. >> if you don't evacuate, you're not just putting your own lives in danger. you are also endangering the lives of our first responders

who may have to come in and rescue you. >> reporter: tens of millions impacted from carolinas to canada and west off to the great lakes. atlantic city, new jersey, is virtually shut down in anticipation of a direct hit. >> i'm really, really worried because they just told a friend of mine they think it's going to hit the bay. the bay and the ocean's going to come together. >> reporter: armies of utility workers are standing by to repair expected massive and widespread power outages. >> it may take a long time to not only to clear but also to get, for example, the power companies back in. >> reporter: sandy is already wreaking havoc here in ocean city, maryland. the heavy rain and wind has already forced the maryland governor to cancel early voting scheduled for monday. tahman bradley, abc news, ocean city, maryland. >> our extreme weather team has been tracking the storm overnight. >> meteorologist jim dickey is joining us this morning with the latest on the storm's projected path. hey, jim. >> hey. well, you see this storm again as you were saying. huge. i want you to track the center here. it was moving its way north and east through much of sunday. it has now started to make the turn. we've been forecasting to the north.

we will watch this then shift its way north and west through the day into the overnight, late tonight. around 8:00, 9:00 hour, we're expecting landfall in new jersey. i also want to point out in and around the center, watch the colors. bright red and orange showing up. as we head forward in time. that's not a good sign. it shows that sandy is, in fact, strengthening. right now not what we want to see here. rain already pouring down along the eastern seaboard. starting to dry out in the outer banks of north carolina. rain band extends well north into portions of pennsylvania. plenty rain to go. could be 48 hours in many spots if not more before the rain begins to wind down. again, three main impacts here. looking at it from sandy's force, first the storm surge. in the northern periphery, wind are driven on shore. devastating storm surge, central, southern new jersey, up through southern new england. talking 5- to 10-foot storm surge plus in some spots.

and then the inland flooding. many spots over 8 inches. anywhere in the dark green here, cities like baltimore, washington, d.c., philadelphia, widespread flooding and then the gusty winds. widespread tropical storm force winds. if not higher -- spots, 50, 60 miles an hour. that's going to bring down a lot of trees and cause widespread power outages. >> that's what folks are fearing, jim. i lived in new orleans for ten years. i have been through many of these storms before. one of the lessons you learn when you go through a lot of them is that that northeast quadrant of the storm, that's the tough part. and explain to folks why that is the bad part of the storm and what major cities are going to be in that quadrant as sandy slowly begins to make landfall. >> that's right. let's back this up and take a look at the storm surge graphic again. storm surge dependent on where you are in the storm, it comes inland. any area of low pressure, northern hemisphere. watch the wind go counterclockwise. along it. where the storm will come, new inland, southern new jersey, wind out of the east from offshore england, new york city area, long island, cape cod. so that's not where you want to

be storm surge-wise for this storm. >> sounds like you pointed out some of the hardest hit areas. at least those areas that you're projecting but what is the worst-case scenario? >> pretty much at this point in time with this storm, this is the worst-case scenario, especially for new york city, especially in across the cape cod area. again, the direction it is taking, the way it is forcing the water in. perhaps worst carries scenario, winds a bit stronger here because the wind field is so massive, it's forcing a lot of water in toward land. >> all right. i know you guys have a tough job ahead of you in the next day or two. appreciate your insight. accuweather's jim dickey. thank you, jim. >> thank you. sandy is bringing air travel to a standstill along the east coast impacting travelers as far as europe and asia. >> amazing. so far more than 7,000 flights have been canceled through the evening. abc's lisa stark has more. >> reporter: at new york's la guardia airport, a madhouse as travelers scramble to get out before the storm comes in.

>> we're trying to get back to raleigh, north carolina, and we're stock. >> we're basically almost having nervous breakdowns. >> reporter: the airlines are taking no chances starting to cancel flights from washington, d.c. northward. united delta, southwest, american, jetblue, and us airways all announcing they will be closed for business on the east coast. a massive shutdown that will ripple nationwide. >> when there are flight cancellations in major hub cities like new york, like philadelphia, like washington, d.c., that affects travelers all over the country. >> reporter: airlines will remove planes from airports in the hurricane's path and hope they can fly back in on tuesday. train travel, too, coming to a stand still. amtrak canceling trains north of new york and virtually all east coast service on monday. the best hope is that east coast flights will resume beginning tuesday. but once they start ramping up again, it will be a good three to four days before the airlines

are back to normal. lisa stark, abc news, reagan national airport. for those of you watching us in airports, hang tough. it's going to be a long few days if you're stuck in one of those airports. >> looks like ma faris will be staying a little bit longer at my place, a lot longer than expected. >> on top of all this, the full moon. when you talk about a perfect storm, so many factors coming together to make it tough. so a full moon's going to add to the storm surge, add to the tides here, so that's just another in a long list of factors. >> they say almost 20% higher in terms of the tides just because of the full moon. >> lots to digest. of course, we'll be following the latest developments on hurricane sandy throughout the entire morning. >> make sure you stay with abc news both on air and online for complete coverage of the storm. and our coverage of hurricane sandy here on "world news now" continues after the break. >> we have much more ahead including how other areas of the eastern seaboard are coping with what's coming. you're watching "world news now."

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you are looking at an extremely up-close-and-personal look at the monster storm menacing the east coast. thesrric you are looking at an extremely up-close-and-personal look at the monster storm menacing the east coast. these hurricane hunters flew through sandy four times at about 10,000 feet. it's all to collect data that

can even help forecasters better predict where the storm is heading. all signs at this point again point to landfall along the jersey coast, late monday night, early tuesday morning. >> it is amazing just how much technology goes into forecasting this assembling all the data. it is just mind-blowing. well, the usually noisy and bustling floors of the atlantic city casinos -- you're a natural at that. >> i like black jack. >> they are quiet this morning, ahead of sandy's arrival. only the fourth time since casinos came to atlantic city that they have been forced to close. >> wow. the last time was hurricane irene that. was august of last year. this resident lives right on the beach. he, of course, is worried about the waves. >> i'm really, really worried because they just told a friend of mine, they think it's going to hit the bay, the bay and the ocean is going to come together. >> the storm surge along some areas of the east is expected to be 11 feet or higher, and it was

just made worse by the full moon. >> absolutely. hurricane sandy at this hour is still hundreds of miles offshore. but even from that distance, she has battered the coast of north carolina. fierce, unrelenting winds blew off the water all day sunday. and the rain that came with it has flooded towns inland from the shore. and now a cold front is moving in from the west. that is a chilly and unusual aftereffect for a hurricane. and people in the carolinas and along much of the east coast scrambled to secure their boats. sandy's outer bands washed away this 30-foot boat and several others along north carolina's crystal coast. some boats were pushed on shore, and a mobile home park ended up under water. >> do not mess with sandy. >> no, no, no. just at the start of this thing. when we come back, the city that never sleeps is well, pretty much shut down right now. >> mm-hmm. take a look at the coverage of hurricane sandy here in new york city. it's all coming up on "world news now." >> announcer: "world news now" continues after this from our abc stations. from our abc st

well the super storm has some 50 million folks in its well, the super storm has some 50 million folks in its cross hairs, and more than 8 million are right here in new york city. >> most of us have to stay put. to the south is new jersey where hurricane sandy is set to come ashore tomorrow -- or tonight sometime. now from the american landscape, how our local station wabc reported and covered this monster storm last night. now a special storm watch edition of channel 7 eyewitness

news. tracking sandy. hurricane sandy, the visitor nobody wants but who's coming anyway. >> don't try to go out there and be a hero or anything as if there's nothing going on here. >> tonight sandy poised to turn into a monster and no more business as usual. schools are closed, and so is mass transit. good evening. i'm sade. >> and i'm bill ritter. the city that never sleeps tonight, at 11:00, basically shut down, shut down by a storm that has already killed 65 people. and the main reason, the subways are shut down. that's why the city's shut down. all 378 stations closed since 7:00 tonight. times square station, one of the busiest, now like a ghost town. >> mass transit shut down. matt kosar is at penn station where some people are now stuck.

matt? >> reporter: sade, pen station is a transportation hub and usually bustling with people, lirr, new jersey transit and subways converge, but tonight it is a ghost town because mass transit has been shut down, creating problems for people who didn't know. >> i just wish that 45 minutes waited on the a train to go to brooklyn. >> reporter: now you're stuck. >> yeah. >> reporter: cops clear out the subways and post "out of service" signs as trains are hauled into rail yards in preparation for hurricane sandy. this is the last crosstown bus to the eastside. brian chambers needs to get to the bronx, but he can't take a bus or subway and he says no cabbie will drive him there. >> a lot of travelers have been slow, out of order, disoriented. >> reporter: at 76, public schools across the city make shift emergency shelters for nearly 400,000 new yorkers evacuated. even pets are welcome here. but of the inconvenience and stress of it all is frustrating for some. >> you don't have your own, your

bed, your shower, you know, and you've got to be with other people. >> reporter: the shelters have cots, blankets, food, and medical personnel. as for getting around the city, it looks like your only option is hopping in a cab. live in midtown, matt kosar channel 7. >> let's go on the jersey shore. lucy yang is in port mob mukt where all eyes are on the bay. lucy? >> reporter: well, sade, the wind is whipping already. i want to show you this ramp behind me. normally it slopes gracefully down to the beach. tonight it looks more like a diving board, dropping straight into the water. the beach is gone. all this, a prelude of what's to come. the monster in the water is beginning to stir. the raritan bay is not supposed to be this rough, this menacing. already in port monmouth, it has swallowed the pier, the beach, and it is trespassing up the dunes.

>> it's unbelievable. i have never seen it like this, even with irene. >> reporter: in keansburg, earlier there was plenty of plywood going up as homeowners and shop owners took advantage of the calm before the storm to protect their properties. despite a mandatory evacuation order, many residents tonight are toughing it out at home. >> we've got all the batteries, we've got the flash lights, nonperishable food items. we've got the government on standby. we've got oem over here in the background. everybody's doing their job. >> reporter: the problem with mandatory evacuations they're not exactly mandatory. officials can't force folks from their homes why is why so many tonight have opted to stay put, hoping to survive sandy. we pray so too. we're live in port monmouth tonight, lucy yang, channel 7, abc news. >> interesting fact here. the storm surge energy numbers for this storm are stronger than hurricane katrina back in new

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recapping our top story, our only story on this monday morning, the latest on sandy, this historic super storm. this morning sandy is a category 1 hurricane, about 250 miles off the coast of north carolina. >> but right now she is turning toward the coast, picking up speed and energy as she meets two other storm fronts. this is basically kinetic energy. she is going to be fueled when she hits the two fronts. the hurricane on target to slam into the coast near atlantic city, new jersey, late tonight or early tuesday. >> again, we're at the very early stages of this thing, that's for sure. sandy is virtually paralyzing

new york city, shutting down subways, buses, commuter rails into the city. new york mayor michael bloomberg has closed the country's largest school system on top of that. in addition, people in low-lying areas around new york have been told to evacuate. and for the first time in nearly three decades, weather is shutting down the new york stock exchange as well. >> yeah. you won't even be able to facilitate a trade online. nothing. >> no, it's massive. >> the storm is sending air travel into a tailspin. more than 7,000 flights have already been canceled through tonight. and that number is going up as sandy moves up the east coast. airports from d.c., boston, clogged with passengers trying to fly out before the storm. cancellations will ripple across the country and it could take days to get back on track. what a mess. some of the most frantic preparations going on along the east coast beaches where people are racing to sandbag, ahead of the storm surge, and many are under order to evacuate simply to get out. the surge could top 11 feet both here in new york and new jersey as well.

>> in a different kind of frantic race, people in the storm's path trying to stock up on supplies, everything from generators, batteries, bread, milk, and matches cleared from store shelves. lines were long at gas stations and atms ran out of cash. my family, we went to target. there was no water there. we had to go to aldi's. for the first time in a long time, i had to buy canned meat. chef boyardee. >> spam. got some spam to go through. >> vienna sausages. this is interesting too. not just nonperishable, water, radio, flashlight, first aid supplies, and batteries. they recommend fill a bathtub with water, make sure your car's tank is full of gas, prep your fridge. we're ready to eat pb & js for the next couple of days. >> spam, peanut butter and jelly. yes, that is the storm diet. folks, it is rough. we will get through it. keep it here on abc news. we'll be right back. >> announcer: this is abc's "world news now" -- informing insomniacs for two decades. .